On the first day of her agenda in New York (United States), Mayor of Bogotá Claudia Lopez participated in the World Assembly of Local and Regional Governments, convened by the Global Taskforce of Local and Regional Governments. She presented Bogotá's progress in complying with the New Urban Agenda.
This meeting was held as a preamble to the High-Level Meeting convened for Thursday, April 28th by the UN Habitat General Assembly, in which Mayor López will be one of the representatives of local governments from around the world.
"This is, without a doubt, a unique opportunity, not only to talk among ourselves - local and regional governments - about the challenges and opportunities we have found for collaborative work, perhaps in a way never seen before due to the pandemic, but also to directly address the United Nations Assembly, said the Mayor of Bogotá.
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In this tweet, the Mayor talks about her participation in the World Assembly of Local and Regional Governments:
En la tarde, Bogotá hizo parte de la Asamblea Mundial de Gobiernos Locales y Regionales en la que conversamos sobre los desafíos que tenemos y el trabajo colaborativo que debemos liderar para dirigirnos a todos los estados nación 👇https://t.co/t4sVuqniG7
— Claudia López Hernández (@ClaudiaLopez) April 27, 2022
At this event, participants shared the lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic and also made recommendations based on social inclusion and financing, migration, equity, and sustainability.
"I think it is important to insist that this moment in which we find ourselves could be the equivalent of the year 1930. We have the challenge of the pandemic, the challenge of global economic crisis, the challenge of poverty, unemployment, social challenges, and even a challenge to democracy," said the Mayor in her speech.
For this reason, she said it is important to unite to explain five common purposes-world peace, employment, quality work, education and care-to the world. "These are key factors to ensure true social, democratic, and environmental sustainability, from the local to the global level," she said.
Mayor López added: "The United Nations today must ensure that it is capable of fulfilling the mission for which it was created, and it counts, of course, on all the local and regional governments of the world to ensure that work is done."
She also highlighted the collaboration of local and regional governments at the international level as one of the most important tools for meeting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
"What we have to use is our capacity for scientific knowledge and take global collective action to protect democratic institutions that allow us to act decisively and efficiently to prevent and mitigate climate change, to create opportunities for education, employment and peace," she emphasized.
Regarding local commitments at the, Mayor López indicated that the Colombian capital is already working to comply with the Land Management Plan (POT, as per the acronym in Spanish) focused on the care of people, the planet, and democracy as a fundamental axis for the city’s development.
With respect to the actions being carried out in Bogotá, she explained that the plan consists of developing strategies aimed at social equity, greening, clean mobility, and economic reactivation. Likewise, the capital city is in the process of building a Public Policy in order to monitor the implementation of the SDGs.
"In the case of Bogotá, we are aligning the four-year Development Plan, inspired by Uruguay, with a District Care System to relieve women of their burdens," she said. The Mayor added that Bogota is making education more relevant to the jobs and challenges of the 21st century - "education for the millions of young people who are asking for it.”
She also explained that the city is using urban planning standards with a focus on social investment and sustainable mobility "so that we can truly have inclusive transportation, inclusive housing, the right to the city, to work, to education, and to a better planet."
The meeting was attended by Ada Colau, Mayor of Barcelona; Valérie Plante, Mayor of Montreal; Carolina Cosse, Mayor of Montevideo; and Santiago Guarderas Izquierdo, Mayor of Quito, among other mayors and representatives of local governments from the five continents.
In closing, the Mayor assured the audience that Bogotá is committed to the fulfillment of the New Urban Agenda and that the aim is to continue being relevant voice in the discussion for the follow-up of the implementation of the global objectives.
"For any local challenge - pandemic, social crisis, protection of democracy, sustainable development, prevention of climate change - the same thing will happen: we will rediscover what we already know, that local and regional governments are indispensable," said Mayor Claudia López.
Participation in UN Habitat side events
In the morning, the Mayor participated in three events organized by UN-Habitat. The first was the panel to 'Accelerate the implementation of the New Urban Agenda and the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals'. The meeting was attended by Dario Herrera, Minister of Housing of Ecuador; Santiago Guarderas Izquierdo, Mayor of Quito (Ecuador); Rohey Malick Lowe, Mayor of Banjul (The Gambia); and Datuk Seri Mahadi bin Che Ngah, Mayor of Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia).
In her speech, Mayor López emphasized that one of the actions in which the New Urban Agenda is being accelerated in Bogotá is focused on building a greener city, "a city that provides greater care, mainly for women, and a city with more innovation".
In this regard, she recalled that "our greatest innovation has been the implementation of our Care System; a way to generate relief, redistribution of unpaid work, and employment with the aim of lifting more than one million women in Bogotá out of poverty.”
"We believe that with these and other innovations Bogotá will be recognized as one of the most committed and innovative cities in the face of the fulfillment of the 2030 Agenda," she added.
The second event was the panel 'Women-led businesses that support women-led cities', where perspectives and experiences of women in leadership positions that contribute to building more equal, inclusive, and equitable societies were explored.
The opening of this meeting of mayors and local governments was led by the executive director of UN Habitat, Maimunah Mohd Sharif, who stressed that "as women leaders we have great challenges and we must work based on collaboration and teamwork, not only towards the fulfillment of the 2030 Agenda, but also in the future."
For her part, Mayor López shared the experience of the District Care System and the importance of empowering women in leadership and decision-making roles.
"Thanks to the support of UN Women and the UN Development Program, we are training and offering jobs through the Mujeres que Reverdecen (“Women who Green”) program, in addition, we are securing funding for more than 1,500 women-led ventures," she highlighted.
Inés Sánchez de Madariaga, professor at the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, highlighted the importance of Bogotá's example for women-led administrations. "Having women in government positions really changes the agenda," she argued. "The case of Bogotá stands out for the implementation of the Care System, a clear development policy made by the mayor," she added.
The third side event was the panel 'The role of local governments in human mobility', where the Mayor shared Bogotá’s challenges and opportunities related to migratory flows and the arrival of new Bogotá citizens.
At the end of the day, Bogotá’s representative met with the Managing Director for the United States of the Financial Times to participate in the Future Cities Americas forum, an initiative that brings together government leaders, businesses, innovators, academics, investors, and financial services to establish a common vision for sustainable, equitable, and safe cities of the future.
Here, Mayor López explained that care not only offers the opportunity to transform the way we approach people's well-being, but also to rethink our relationship with the planet and with our democracy.
Agenda Thursday, April 28
This Thursday, April 28, Mayor Claudia López will participate in a high-level meeting of the UN Habitat General Assembly, where progress in the implementation of the New Urban Agenda will be presented. In this space, she will share her vision for the future of Bogotá, which places the care of people, the planet, and democracy at the center of her administration.
She will also attend the opening of the 100th session of the Regional Plan Association (RPA). This organization works to develop projects to improve the economic and environmental conditions and the quality of life of the inhabitants of the metropolitan area of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut.
